frightened by his shouting for Kat? Again, Joe yelled her name; and back came the noise of the stirring of leaves.
The sound came from the base of a large oak tree. Joe walked toward it; for whatever made the sound, was on the opposite side of this massive tree. To his surprise, between two large roots of the big tree, lying there on her side was Kat. She was shivering, her eyes open, and she looked over to Joe kneeling down alongside her, “Leave me, Joe,” her voice weak.
Joe looked bewildered as he brushed away the hair covering her face, “Kat what’s wrong?”
“I’m dying,” she replied in a feeble voice that at first scared Joe. He began to recall how hard it was for Scuba Bill to get everyone moving this morning. Kat had fallen sick like the
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Joe didn’t think much about Kat’s slowness as she walked without her usual bounce. Even climbing into the BFV seemed a bit of a chore. “I’m still a little sore all over,” she admitted. Joe already knew why and assumed she did too. “I must have gotten the flu or something.”
“Believe me, Kat, the whole convoy turned up sick, except Scuba Bill and me. Guess you’re right, though, it’s gotta be the flu.”
She blew a sigh of relief, “I thought I had rabies; so I went off to die in the woods. I couldn’t bear to be around people to see me like that. And who knows, I could have gone crazy and bit someone.”
Joe laughed and raised his eyebrows to the thought, “Yeah, I can see that rabies could be a problem. Where would I be, finding you dead out there after I stayed behind with the hope of finding you alive?”
“You really care about me?”
“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be here right now. Scuba Bill had the others to worry about, so he left me behind to find you and bring you back.”
Kat got quiet and thought about that awhile. She sniffed. “I never had anyone to love me Joe and now,” Kat began to cry struggling to find the right words, “And now I’m sure I’ve given you the